Process of making maltose and dextrose.



Nrrnn STATES- PATENT F FIcE.

PROCESS OF MAKING MALTOSE AND DEXTROSE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,910, dated January23, 1900. Application filed February 24, 1899. Serial No. 706,723. (Nospecimens!) .To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK WILLIAM A. WIESEBROOK, a citizen of theUnited States, and a resident of New York city, New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Processes of ManufacturingMaltose, Dextrose, Malt-Sugar, and Kindred Articles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of this invention is to manufacture malt-sugar, such asmaltose and dextrose, bya diastasic process, to provide means forfacilitating and augmenting the saccharification of farinaceoussubstances by the diastasic process, to provide means of refining andclarifying such products, and to manufacture such products of purequality, healthful as a food, to be used for brewing, confectionery, orother alimentary purposes.

To carry out my process, I use those cereals which, according to thepercentage of starch contained therein, command the lowest price andmalt the same, or whole. The cereal used is usually corn or maize, and Iwill therefore describe the process as applied to it, though, of course,other cereals may be used.

A quantity of corn is cleaned from all ad hering smut and immersed inwater, to which is added a small amountsay about two hundredths of oneper cent.of phosphoric acid in order to prevent the formation of germson the grain during the period of steeping, the phosphoric acid actingas an antiseptic. When the corn has absorbed about forty per cent. ofits weight of steeping-water, with its small percentage of phosphoricacid, it is removed from the steeping-tanks and allowed to germinateinto malted grain, using the usual precautions in the process as regardsthe temperature, moisture, and time. When the rootlet of the corn hasacquired about twice the length of the kernel, germination is completed,for at this time the grain contains the greatest amount of diastasicferment. I have found that the addition of phosphoric acid in smallquantities, such as described, to the steeping-water also augments thequantity or power of the diastasic ferment in the germinated grain,whether it be corn, barley, or other grain, so that a either in partmalted grain of great diastasic quality will result. WVhen thegermination of the grain is completed, it is ground and the bullyportion separated from the starchy or mealy portion with the aid ofwater and proper bolting and separating apparatus, the mealy portionbeing gathered in a separate vat from the bully portion. When the mealyportion has settled in the vat in which it has been mixed with water,the liquid above it, containing a great portion of the diastase, is nowdecanted from the settled mealy portion and placed in the vat containingthe hully portion. This mash is then raised to a temperature of about140 Fahrenheit by the admission of steam, and this temperature ismaintained in order to convert the starchy substance thereof withoutdiminishing the diastasic energy until the liquids and hully portion areused elsewhere, as will be described furth or below. The mealy portionafter the liquid has been decanted from it is charged, together withabout twice its weight of water, into a converter, preferably of theHollofre und pattern, and heresubjected to a cooking of about one hoursduration at a pressure of about forty pounds to the square inch. Whenthis point is reached, the cooking is stopped and the contents of thecooker are rapidly cooled by suitable means to a temperature of about140 Fahrenheit, after which the liquid and holly portion are introducedinto and mixed with the charge in the converter, both mashes having nowin the mixed state the temperature of 140 Fahrenheit. The mash preparedfrom the decanted liquid of the mealy portion and the hully portion ofthe grain, having all the diastasic properties originally containedtherein intact on account of the temperature maintained therein, nowacts on the mash in the cooker and almost immediately converts the sameinto maltose and dextrine in the proportions of about sixty-six percent. maltose to thirty-four per cent. dextrine. In order to facilitateand augment the dialytic fermentation of the diastase, I now charge thecooker with carbonic-acid gas at a pressure of between forty to sixtypounds to the square inch, keeping the temperature of the mash between140 and 150 Fahrenheit, and mixing the same with the gas by agitation.The

action of the carbonic-acid gas now assists and strengthens thediastasic action and reduces the percentage of the dextrine relative tomaltose in proportion to the time of duration of action, so that anaction of the gas of about one hours duration converts practically alldextrine into maltose. The effect of carbonic-acid gas on a mashcontaining diastase is to prevent the coagulation of the diastase, whichcoagulation prevents the further conversion of the starch into dextrineand maltose, and subsequently the conversion of dextrine into maltoseand of maltose into dextrose. Vhen the saccharification process has thusbeen carried to the desired point,

according to the purpose for which the product is to be used, the mashis filtered to sepa- I rate the solid matter from a clear wort, eitherby special filtering devices or by means of a filtering -vat withperforated false bottom, such as are used in breweries. If the finishedproduct is to be an ordinary malt-syrup containing only maltose,dextrine, &c., as in ordinary beer-wort, the wort may now, as it comesfrom the filters, be concentrated in a vaccum pan to the desiredconsistency and placed on sale. If, however, a maltose or dextrose syrupof great clearness and purity is desired, it becomes necessary toeliminate the gluten and other albuminous substances from the product.To do this, I proceed as follows: Either I subject the liquid to betreated to a freezing process until said impurities show distinct signsof congelation, while the liquid sugar-containing portion is stilllimpid fluid, and in this state remove said impurities by filtration, orI proceed in the following manner, which for practical purposes is morerational:

The wort when filtered from the solid matter,

as described, is usually of a specific gravity of from 12 to 15 Balling.This gravity I have found to be not as convenient for this treatment asa wort of from 25 to 30 Balling density. I therefore concentrate thewort as it comes from this first filtration in a vacuum-pan under a lowtemperature to the above gravity and cool the same to a temperature offrom 32 to 40 Fahrenheit. I then subject the wort again to the action ofcarbonicacid gas at a pressure of about sixty pounds to the square inch,when practically all glu ten and vegetable albuminoids and non-maltoseingredients of the wort coagulate suificiently to be removed from theliquid by filtration or precipitation and decantation. After the-removalof the objectionable ingredients the concentration in vacuum may beresumed to the required consistency and the resultant product, aslightly-colored maltose-syrup of great clearness, is excellentlyadapted for the brewing of pale beer of good quality and other purposes.The temperature of the wort and tension of the gas, together with theduration of the treatment, enables the operator to remove a greater orless percentage of the above ingredients, so that the degree ofclarification is in the hands of the operator. If, for instance,beer-wort after having undergone the process of boiling with hops andhas been cooled down to about 35 Fahrenheit is treated withcarbonic-acid gas, as described, and filtered clear from thethus-coagulated impurities before the same is brought to fermentation,the beer produced is of far better aroma and flavor than the beer madeby the old process. By removing the superfluous glutinous and otheralbuminous substances in this manner the process of fermentation andclarification of the beer is also greatly facilitated and shortened, andthe yeast is maintained purer, because of its not coming in lengthycontact with the nitrogenous and readily-changing substances, which bythe old process of brewing are only removed by tedious and lengthystorage of the beer and during a slow after fermentation.

WVhen the finished product is to be of great sweetness and of a perfectclearness and brillianey, intended for confectionery and other purposes,I proceed as follows: The process of malting and saccharification up tothe point of separating the wort from the solid matter is carried on, ashereinbefore described. \Vhen the wort is filtered from the solid matterin the first filtration, (care being taken to maintain the temperaturealways between 14:0 and 150 Fahrenheit, so as not to destroy thediastasic ferment by overheating,) the clear filtered wort is againcharged into a converter constructed similar to the one described,buthaving also a steam-jacket, so as to enable the temperature of thewort to be regulated without admitting direct steam to dilute the same.The wort in this converter is now charged with carbonic-acid gas at apressure of about sixty pounds to the square inch and agitatedtherewith, while the temperature is gradually increased to about 160Fahrenheit, and by this process a resaccharification takes place throughthe action of the diastase and gas and the wort is converted frommaltose into dextrose of great sweetness and purity and far superior tothe acid-converted glucose and grape-sugar as manufactured heretofore.The duration of the treatment regulates the degree of conversion.

The process of defecation, as the elimination of albuminous and othermatter from sugar-juice is called, is accomplished by my process withoutthe aid of alkalies or lime. The juices treated in a cold state with thegas, as described, are therefore purer and yield a greater amount ofsugar and less molasses.

The sugar-juices are best treated immediately after they come from thesugar-cane press or the beet leaching or pressing apparatus.

After having used the carbonic-acid gas in any of the describedtreatments the same can be gathered in any suitable reservoir afterhaving been purified from any objectionable impurities, and thusrecovered can be used over again.

When the articles to be manufactured are to be colorless syrups or insolid form, such as white malt-sugar, the product must be filtered fordecolorization over bone-black at the proper stage of the process, andif an anhydrous malt-sugar is desired I concentrate the clarified syrupto the point of crystallization, separate the crystallized sugar fromthe syrup by centrifuging, dry the sugar, melt the first-obtained sugarover again a second or third time at as low a temperature as possible,then allow crystallization again, centrifuging the sugar from the syrupand drying it each time before further treatment in the usual manner. Bythese means of retreating the sugar several times an anhydrous whitesugar of great sweetness and without possessingthe defect of ordinarygrape-sugar of being very hydroscopic is obtained.

That I claim is- 1. A step in the process of manufacturing maltose,dextrose and malt-su gar, which consists in separating the meal from thehull of the malt, separating the diastase from the meal, cooking themeal, adding the diastase together with the hull to the cooked meal, andmashing the product in the presence of carbonic-acid gas, substantiallyas specified.

2. A step in the process of manufacturing maltose, dextrose andmalt-sugar, which consists in coagulating the glutinous and albuminousimpurities of the mash by treating the mash with carbonic-acid gas at alow tem perature, and removing such coagulated impurities, substantiallyas specified.

3. The process of manufacturing maltose, dextrose and malt-sugar, whichconsists in separating the meal from the hull of the malt, separatingthe diastase from the meal, cooking the meal, adding the diastasetogether with the hull to the cooked meal, mashing the product in thepresence of carbonic -acid gas, coagulating the glutinous anda'lbuminous impurities by retreating the mash with carbonic-acid gas ata low temperature, and removing the coagulated impurities, substantiallyas specified.

Signed by me at New York city, New York, this 16th day of February,1899.

FREDERICK WILLIAM A. WIESEBROOK.

Witnesses:

F. v. BRIESEN, WILLIAM MILLIAM.

